


Vagabonds

by watsky



Series: Vagabonds [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-13 12:03:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14111937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watsky/pseuds/watsky
Summary: Overwatch OC fic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Emmersoni](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmersoni/gifts).



> Hi! Name's Matt. This is a story about my Overwatch OCs that my friend encouraged me to start posting here. There will be interaction with canon characters, but this is mainly about my OCs.

The creation of the robot set in motion events that, unbeknownst to the creators, changed many lives. A desire to create the world’s most realistic, human-like robot, led to the eventual creation of advanced prosthetics, and later, omniums. The robot itself, however, never reached fruition. While the android lay dormant, their prototypes went on to alter the future of robotics. The cancellation of the project led to the rediscovery of it decades later, and the donation of it to the museum. The robot, dubbed the “father of omnics”, it was put on display in a small glass box in a Japanese museum, where it was created. 

And so, Gale stands in front of the box, reading the plaque. He clutches his bag and looks up at the predecessor to omnic kind, examining it closely. It’s metallic, obviously, silver all over. Its jaw, on a hinge. It’s eyes appear to be LED screens, possibly to display different eye colours, as opposed to one colour on a fake eye. He checks his informational pamphlet to verify. Yep, he’s right. 

His eyes trail down, taking in its joints and plates, looking closely at characters on its chest. If Gale’s studying of Japanese taught him anything, it should mean human; 人間, ningen. The robot’s actual name is Takeshi, or so says the plaque.

It moves.

Gale jumps. He knew that the robot was activated now, and could move and speak when he was booking his flight and hotel, but still wasn’t expecting it. He taps nervously on the strap of his bag as he looks around the museum to make sure nobody was watching. 

“Can you hear me?” He taps his ear, just in case the robot can’t hear him, they’d still know what Gale is asking. They tilt their head to the side curiously, before shaking their head. They cannot hear through the glass. Gale expected this, and reaches into his bag to pull out the notebook. He came prepared.  

He scribbles quickly, both in English and basic, simple Japanese. He checks to see if the coast is clear once more before lifting it to show Takeshi. 

Morse code? Sign language?

Again, Takeshi pauses for a moment before responding. Though the box is small, restricting movement, Takeshi is able to sign hello to Gale. Excited, Gale signs hello back to Takeshi. 

For months prior to his trip to Japan, Gale had studied long and hard to prepare for meeting Takeshi. Japanese dialects, sign language, morse code. He wanted to make sure that he could communicate with them. Now, standing alone in front of their museum exhibit, he finally gets to put his studies to use. Gale places his hand on his chest, then taps his index and middle fingers on each hand together twice. Spelling his name out is easy, only being four letters. He doesn’t bother with his last name, which is much more long and confusing. Takeshi responds with another hello and Gale’s name, and a how are you. Gale is elated. He spends hours at the exhibit, signing back and forth with Takeshi. The longer they spend together, the more cramped and uncomfortable Takeshi looks. They can barely move more than a few inches in either direction, with just enough room in front of them to sign. Gale starts asking Takeshi if they’re uncomfortable, being in such a small box. Takeshi admits that they believe more freedom of movement would be beneficial, but doesn’t know if they are uncomfortable or not. They go on to explain that their ability to recognize emotion was never activated; they were hastily finished and put on display once they were rediscovered. 

Gale feels a pang of sadness for Takeshi. Before he can sign anything else, a security guard taps Gale on the shoulder, letting him know that the exhibit is closing, and that he needs to leave. As he is led away, he sadly looks back at Takeshi, and tries to convey with his eyes that he’ll return. And he does, the next day. Then again, the day after. 

Gale extends his stay in Japan, cancelling his return flight and adding more and more days onto his hotel booking. He visits Takeshi at the museum daily, always beelining straight to their glass box as soon as he gets through the ticket booth. Money is no object to him, coming from a well off family as he does, so buying a museum ticket every day-- especially for something as important to him as this-- isn’t really a bother. He’s lucky he brought so much money with him, because he wasn’t expecting to visit so often. He knew he wanted to meet and talk to Takeshi, but wasn’t expecting to be so engaged with them. Gale wanted to see the father of all omnics, and to speak with them, but Takeshi has become far more than just a sight to see. Dare he say, a friend? 

Despite their friendship, when Takeshi asks about Gale, it catches him off guard. He’s so used to asking things about Takeshi, that he’s not prepared. It’s a simple question, and Takeshi’s finger taps against the glass in front of them as they point to Gale. They inquire as to the reason behind Gale’s eye, and three metal fingers. Gale is distracted by the question. He frowns, unsure of how to explain it in sign language. Takeshi taps the glass purposefully, to get Gale’s attention. They sign to indicate that they’re sorry, and Gale gives his head a small shake, to get his mind sorted out. He smiles and lets Takeshi know that it’s okay, he’s fine. After a moment, his face falls. He stares at the ground around the glass, and when he looks up again, he makes eye contact with Takeshi. With enough confidence to not feel the need to look around first, he places his hand on the glass. Takeshi starts to lift their hand to touch where Gale’s is, but as soon as their fingers light on the surface, Gale’s hand pulls away. 

“I’ll be back, Takeshi.” 

With that, Gale picks his bag off the floor, and he departs, leaving Takeshi rather stunned. He never leaves until closing time, and Takeshi’s hand stays on the glass until Gale is out the doors.


	2. Chapter 2

Gale doesn’t remember a time where he  _ didn’t  _ want to become an omnic. His earliest memory is of sitting in a park, his siblings running around and playing, when he noticed a nearby omnic. They were reading at a bench, minding their own business, and Gale was  _ fascinated  _ by them. He couldn’t take his eyes away. His parents didn’t notice him slipping from view and climbing up on the bench beside the omnic fellow, continuing to stare. 

“Oh! Hello, little one.” The omnic put their book down. “Can I help you with something? Are you lost?” 

Gale didn’t say anything, only reaching out to touch them. Before Gale could do anything else, he was scooped up by his father. 

“Gale! I’m so sorry, sir. Kids, they can be so rude.” 

“Haha! Don’t worry about it. Kids are curious! I can’t count all the times I’ve been stared at by kids in public. No hard feelings.”

Gale squirmed in his father’s arms, trying to get a better look at the omnic on the bench. As they resumed their book, Gale’s parents carried him away. His mother chastised him for bothering a stranger, but Gale smiled and became excited. He continued to squirm until his father put him down. A moment later, his parents’ anger turned to amusement, their son’s declaration seen as mere childhood fantasy.

“Gale,” His father knelt before his son, getting down to his level. “I don’t want to crush your dreams, but… you can’t be an omnic when you’re older. You’re human! I’m sorry.” Undeterred, Gale shook his head.

“I’m gonna be an omnic, dad. I’m gonna build an omnic body and be in it and be an omnic!” 

His dad smiled and ruffled Gale’s hair, deciding to humour his son. He told him that he’s sure he will, and off Gale ran to play with the triplets. 

The older Gale got, the more distant he grew from the rest of the Boudreau family. He threw himself into his studies, learning more about both medicine and robotics. As he grew older, his family stopped humouring him, telling him that he needs to give up his obsession. He moved out young, striking out on his own at 17. He had the funds to, having inherited a great sum from a grandparent’s passing, and he planned to use every cent to fuel his dream. He hasn’t physically seen his family since he moved out-- a good thing, considering what he’s done to himself.

It started small. Diagrams and blueprints. Testing anaesthesia. He made himself nervous, buying the equipment he needed. First to go was a finger, amputated at home. He chose his left hand, so that if something went wrong, he could still write. It took some tweaking, adjusting and experimentation, but once he got the robotic replacement working, it was smooth sailing.He took off another finger, and another. Three fingers on his left hand, down to the knuckles, replaced with metal. All done at home, all done without his family’s knowledge. When just doing fingers wasn’t enough, he started replacing patches of skin with metal plates; doing to his toes what he did to his fingers was good practice, but he wanted to try a bigger project. He needed to rip off the bandaid, jump up to something harder, to reduce his fear and continue his quest to become an omnic. 

He removed his own eye. It was a hard surgery; the eye works fine, but since he was working on himself with mirrors and intuition, he managed to botch it. If he cries, or if his eyes get watery at all, it will short circuit and stop working. He’ll need to fix it manually, reaching into his socket with a long tool, like a screwdriver. It hurts to do so, and as such Gale tries not to cry. As long as it doesn’t short, he can see well. A proper doctor could fix it up, he’s sure, but that would require letting someone else know what he’s doing. 

It’s been about a year since he took out his eye, and two since he moved out and started taking off fingers. When he heard about Takeshi’s exhibit, he knew he had to go and meet them, to meet such an important piece to the omnic history puzzle. He’s glad he did, he knows he’ll never regret it. Hopefully, he won’t come to regret this, either.

He draws back his fist and punches the glass as hard as he can with his left hand, the metal fingers cracking a large hole in the case. Shards bounce off Takeshi’s chest, and they watch as Gale starts hitting larger pieces out of the glass box, weakened by the first punch. 

“Come on! Help me!” Gale insists, continuing to chip away at Takeshi’s prison. “I’m gonna get you out of here!” 

Realizing what Gale is trying to do, Takeshi starts to help, until they can fit through the hole made in the glass. Alarms are sounding now, and the two can hear security getting closer. Gale grabs Takeshi’s arm and starts dragging them away from the broken glass case, trying to spur them into a run. Takeshi complies, and follows Gale’s lead.

“This way! We have to go quickly, before they catch us!” Gale’s relied so far on speed, hoping that by going fast enough, the reaction of the authorities will be too late to catch them. He’s springing Takeshi on impulse, with no prior planning. Simply break in, break them out, and flee the scene as fast as possible. 

Security guards are trained for a reason. In no time, Gale and Takeshi are found and chased down, the guards getting closer and closer. With a leap, a guard takes Gale down by the legs, and he thuds to the ground. He squirms and claws at the ground in front of him, trying to escape the security’s grasp. With a squeaky, panicked voice, he calls out for assistance.

“Takeshi! Help!”

Takeshi pauses, still not quite sure whether they should just comply and return to their case. They take a short moment, and Gale starts to worry that Takeshi doesn’t want to help themself escape. Gale starts hitting the guard’s head randomly, to make them let go, and more guards arrive. Just as he is about to tell Takeshi to go, run, leave him behind and be free, Takeshi moves toward Gale. They grab a guard, shoving them back and sending them flying, distracting the guard on Gale’s legs. Gale uses the distraction to wriggle free and stumble to his feet, beckoning Takeshi to follow. Takeshi grabs the nearest guard and pushes them into their fellows, turning on their heel and sprinting after Gale. He grabs Takeshi’s arm so they don’t get separated after climbing over a wire fence across the street from the museum.

Gale doesn’t let go of Takeshi’s arm as they run, winding between buildings and down side roads to ensure they aren’t followed. He’s panting for breath by the time they arrive at the back of the hotel, using his customer key card with shaky hands to let them both into his room. He locks the door behind them and collapses against the door.

“... Gale.”

Gale hasn’t heard Takeshi’s voice before. It’s deep and smooth, with little inflection. It has that tinny, computerized sound that all omnic voices have. Gale props himself up on his elbows to look at Takeshi. 

“Y… um, yeah? I mean, yes?”

“Why have you broken me out of the museum? You have committed an illegal act. You are putting your life and your freedom at risk.”

“Well, I, uh,” Gale sits fully up, now very anxious. “I… I couldn’t stand seeing you in that cramped box, treated like a… like a display. You’re clearly an independent, living person! And I--”

“I am not alive.”

“R--” Gale clears his throat. “Right. I meant, like… conscious. You’re conscious. You may not be able to recognize emotions, but that doesn’t mean you should be treated like an object. I just… felt like I had to do something.”

Takeshi is silent for a moment.

“You are injured. The glass has cut your hands. I have knowledge of basic first aid, if you do not wish to travel to a nearby hospital. I am able to cleanse your wounds.” Gale looks down at his hands in surprise. The glass was so sharp, and his adrenaline was so high, that he didn’t notice the cuts at all. 

“I don’t want to go to a hospital. I don’t think they’re deep enough to need stitches. I’ve… had worse injuries than this. Thank you, Takeshi. I appreciate your concern. I can do it myself, though.” Gale stands and rounds the corner into the bathroom, running his hands under cold water to wash away the blood. He asks Takeshi to pass him tweezers that are in his bag with his other toiletries, and begins to pull out pieces of glass from his hands and forearms. His various cuts begin to throb. None of them appear to be deep enough for stitches, but they’ll scar for sure. He has no gauze, so adhesive bandages will have to do the trick. He cleans up as best as he can, and leaves the bathroom, returning to the bed.

“Do you sleep, Takeshi?”

“I have not found reason to enter my sleep state as of yet, though I am able to shut down for the night.”

“Oh.” Gale shifts awkwardly. “If you want to use the bed, I can--”

“That will not be necessary. I do not desire to enter slumber. I welcome you to sleep on the bed; I will remain alert.” 

“Gotcha. I’ll turn in for the night, then. See you in the morning, Takeshi.”

“Good night, Gale. Thank you.”   


“Thank you? For what?”

“I am thanking you for freeing me from the museum.”

“Oh! Uh… any time.” Gale smiles. Takeshi turns their attention to the window, and Gale stretches out on the bed. He stares at his bandaged hands, worrying about what comes next.


End file.
